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Join Us in New Orleans

By Bill Hall, Chair

The Libertarian Party’s biennial national convention in New Orleans June 30 – July 3 promises to be quite a party. It is exceeding all records for registrants, with reservations to date far ahead of our last, packed, presidential nominating convention in Orlando, and it’s not too late to sign up. Go to https://libertarianconvention.org.

The business of the convention will include the selection of national officers and the Libertarian National Committee, in some hotly-contested races. Our own Brian Ellison has thrown his hat in the ring to run for a position as our regional representative to the LNC. That race will be decided in a caucus of the delegates from the states in our region.

Delegates will vote on changes to the national party bylaws and platform. Our own Jim Fulner serves on the Platform Committee, by virtue of our status as one of the top 10 states for national Libertarian party membership. Our own Emily Salvette was selected by the LNC to continue her many years of service on the national Credentials Committee.

Oops! I Missed The Filing Deadline

Four ways you can still run for office without qualifying for the primary

By Greg Stempfle, Political Director

1) Be nominated for statewide office at the Libertarian Party of Michigan Fall State Convention

There are thirteen statewide candidates that may be nominated at our August 25 state convention in Romulus. These are candidates that do not compete in the primary election. Delegates will select our nominees for Lieutenant Governor, Secretary of State, Attorney General, State Board of Education (2 seats), MSU Board of Trustees (2), U of M Board of Regents (2), WSU Board of Governors (2), and Justice of the Supreme Court (2).

Libertarian Party Primary Debate Makes History "Up North"

By Andy Evens, Straits Area Chair

On May 20th, the Straits Area Libertarian Party hosted a “Town Hall” forum featuring our two primary candidates for Governor, Bill Gelineau and John Tatar. The resulting turnout including many new faces, and the two contenders fielded a wide ranging set of topics. The audience was very engaged, and they had many follow-up questions and comments to contribute. I have rarely seen two hours move by so quickly.

A Moment In History

For the first time in Michigan history, this event included two Libertarian primary challengers for Governor; Gelineau and Tatar both collected well over the required 15,000 voter signatures in order to make the August 7th ballot.

Update! Leonard Schwartz Will Match Contributions up to $100,000

By Leonard Schwartz, US House Candidate Dist. 11

Editor’s note: This article concerns a candidate seeking the Libertarian Party nomination through the primary system. The Michigan Libertarian provides fair coverage of any Libertarian Party of Michigan member who is seeking the nomination through this process without endorsing one candidate over another, or the candidate’s views.

Bath, MI – At the March 10 Libertarian Party of Michigan (LPM) convention in Bath Township, 35 delegates and 14 alternates were elected to represent Michigan at the Libertarian Party’s upcoming national convention July 1-3. State Chair Bill Hall is an automatic delegate per our Bylaws and will lead the delegation of 36 in New Orleans.

I’m Leonard Schwartz and I’m running in Congressional district 11 because it will be easiest. In 2016 the Republican incumbent won with only 53% of the vote. He is not running for reelection. Six Democrats and six Republicans are running in the August 7 primary. Their battle in the primary will weaken the two survivors’ ability to win in November. With your help, I can be the first Libertarian elected to Congress.

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Candidates Take Advantage of Major Party Primary Status

By Bill Hall, Chair

So what does major party “primary” status mean for Libertarian candidates? So far, a lot.

As I told Rick Pluta of Michigan Public Radio a few days ago, the fact that the Libertarian Party will be participating in the August 7 primary, just like the Republicans and Democrats, has resulted in unprecedented voter and media attention for Libertarians this early in an election year.

Earlier this month, Libertarian State Senate candidate Tim Coon posted on Facebook “11 candidate questionnaires in the mailbox today……… Unreal.” And that isn’t an isolated instance. Many of our 42 candidates on the primary ballot are receiving mailings and questionnaires from a wide variety of community organizations and public interest groups. We had wondered how much not being in the primary affected attention to Libertarian campaigns. Now we know.

Save the date: LPM State Convention on August Twenty Fifth

By Greg Stempfle, Political Director

The Libertarian Party of Michigan (LPM) will hold its Fall State Convention on August 25th, 2018 at a venue in Romulus or Novi. It will take place just 18 days after the primary election, and will be our first nominating convention held under the same election laws as the Republican and Democratic Parties.

Nominations

Delegates to the convention will select our nominees for Lieutenant Governor, Secretary of State, and Attorney General. They will also select up to two nominees for State Board of Education, MSU Board of Trustees, U of M Board of Regents, WSU Board of Governors, and Justice of the Supreme Court.

Get Articles Posted Early And Often

By Scotty Boman, Editor

If you are wondering if it is too early or too late to post an article in the Michigan Libertarian, the answer is “no.” The deadline for submitting articles to be in the subsequent month’s issue is the twentieth of the month. That issue, however, is a compilation of articles that can be posted to the website at any time leading up to publication. An email blast goes out to the membership on the first of the month, containing a link to the newsletter, compiled summaries of each article, and a link to each post.

Some events are also posted by their hosts at the Meetup.com site. It is recommended that you contact an officer for an affiliate or check the Website (or Facebook page) associated with the meeting host (if they have one) before arriving at a meeting. Some meetings can get canceled, or locations can change with short notice. Contact information connected to most events can be found by expanding the item on the "Agenda view" of the Events page of our website.

June 7, 2018 - Libertarian Party of Livingston County monthly social meeting, 7:00 PM - 9:00 PM
Cleary’s Pub, 117 E Grand River Ave, Howell, MI 48843
Catch up with each other at 7 while we order food and introduce any visitors. Occasionally, we will have a guest speaker.

June 13, 2018 – Libertarian Party of West Michigan, “Bringing the Gold Rush to Muskegon,” 6:30 PM - 8:00 PMLocation to be announced.
As part of its continuing series of social events, the Libertarian Party of West Michigan is bringing the Libertarian Gold Rush to Barry County! Come meet Libertarian Party candidates, including Jay Gillotte, candidate for State Senate District 19, ask questions, and socialize with other Libertarians. Learn how you can help out as a volunteer. This is the year to get involved with the Libertarian Party! We have a lot in store for the 2018 election and want everyone to participate. #LPWM #goldrush2018
For more information contact Jake Andrews at jwandrew@mtu.edu